I would like to congratulate you on your time as Speaker of the House. You leave behind a legacy to be proud of: extending health care coverage for almost 1.5 million people, and winning basic education funding, paid family leave, the Marriage Equality Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Dream Act, and the Housing Trust Fund, which has invested more than $1 billion in affordable housing. These are important achievements.

However, there is one thing missing from your legacy ― and it’s the one that future generations will care about the most.

In October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s largest body of climate scientists, released its latest report, a synthesis of over 6,000 peer-reviewed science papers. Its findings were clear: the world has a shockingly small window of time to reduce our climate pollution and keep global warming below 1.5°C of warming ― and the difference between 1.5°C and 2°C of warming can be measured in millions of lives, vast upheaval, and widespread ecosystem devastation.

History will remember the period from 1999 – 2019 as the period when we had the chance to act on climate. Yet, in that time the Washington State legislature has passed no meaningful climate legislation: none.

I urge you to make passing bold climate legislation the top priority for the Democrats in this legislative session.